


Nazha in the Silver Marches

by razgaz



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Genre: Diary/Journal, Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Epistolary, Gen, Letters, Roleplay Logs, Silver Marches, Sporadic Updates, sword coast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-01-23 21:50:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21327226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/razgaz/pseuds/razgaz
Summary: Letters that Nazha writes to Oversword Amir Tuman, but doesn't send.I've been writing letters in character to keep track of how Nazha if feeling and what she is thinking throughout the campaign. These are usually written after long rests or periods of traveling, so updates will be sporadic.
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I would make the first chapter just her backstory/character information.

Nazha

-Female Fighter  
-Zariel Tiefling  
-Soldier  
-Lawful Neutral  
-Intentionally Unaligned Faith (partial to Lathander)  
-Lesbian  
-Cormyrian

Eyes – Gold Catlike Eyes  
Hair - Pale Lavender   
Skin - Deep Red-Purple/Wine  
Height - 6'6"   
Age – 31

-Tall -Athletic build -Shapely  
-Cleanly dressed -Clothes are well-fitted, light, and slightly revealing  
-Fine armor gauntlets with phoenix embellishments  
-Tight braids pulling back the front of long hair -Barefoot -Nose ring -Kohl-lined eyes

Personality Traits  
I can stare down a hell hound without flinching.  
I’ve lost too many friends, and I’m slow to make new ones.  
I have a commanding presence that even strangers can feel.

Ideals  
Responsibility. I do what I must and obey just authority. (Lawful)  
I find playing politics distasteful. I say what I mean and favor direct action

Bonds  
I fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.

Flaws  
I’d rather eat my armor than admit when I’m wrong.

A former Swordcaptain of the Purple Dragons of Cormyr. She was raised from nothing by an Oversword, Amir Tuman, who saw potential in her.

She never knew her biological father and her memories of her mother are few. Most of what she remembers is that she went by the name Weary and she might have died of some illness when she was 5 or 6. After her mother died, she continued to live in their little shack in the slums of Marsember and she eventually become somewhat of a leader amongst the children of the slums. Living in the slums as a Tiefling, she used her strength and her wits to survive and though she continued to run into trouble with adults who thought that, as a child, she would be an easy target, she was a smart and determined fighter who was always able to get out of trouble, though not without injury.

After a chance encounter with the Oversword Amir, when he was in Marsember to visit the Morningmist Hall when she was 8 years old, he returned to see after her many times. When she was 10, he decided to take her to his estate and raise her as his ward, providing her with the best education and training. Seeing her potential and thought she had the makings to be a great Swordlord. Oversword Amir often still thinks of Nazha as the little girl she was when he first took her in. She was slow to trust his kindness at first, questioning his intentions, so her complete faith in him touches him greatly and he care for her as a daughter. (regardless that he is human and she is a tiefling)

As a Swordcaptain, she led an elite squad operating on the borders of Cormyr and became well respected amongst her comrades. Amir, as her supervising Oversword, favored her for a promotion to Lionar. This led to tensions with other high-ranking officers who held prejudice against her for being a Tiefling in a position of power. In the end, with convincing from Oversword Amir, she was honorably discharged with her new rank as a concession.

While holding a place in her heart for her subordinates and the Oversword Amir, she is still bitter towards authority that she views as unjust and the corruption of Cormyr.

She now travels outside of Cormyr, taking odd jobs, mostly as a personal or caravan guard, trying not to attract too much attention despite her status as a Tiefling, her height, and her wearing the phoenix gauntlets gifted to her by the Oversword Amir for her ill-fated promotion.

After her de facto banishment, she went through a period of depression and then a time where she felt great rage and resentment towards society as a whole. She experienced somewhat of a late rebellion and acted especially vicious in battle during this time.

Eventually, she worked as a guard for a merchant caravan that traveled along the Golden Way from Telflamm all the way to Shou Lung and back, where she learned of the Samurai and felt great admiration for their resolve and commitment to honor. She had some knowledge of them from the Xiousing district in Marsember. She studied briefly under the Samurai and found new purpose in her life, though not necessarily direction.

• Her name is Midani (Arabic) for honesty/virtuousness/righteousness/integrity/moral excellence. Oversword Amir Tuman’s ancestry is Zakharan and he gave her the name to start her new life. He deeply believed in the ability for people to have new beginnings and adopted the Heraldic Sign of a rising phoenix, which Nazha inherited, though she is unable to have the same amount of faith as the Oversword Amir.

• Her original name was Vice. This still affects the way she thinks of herself.

• She always refers to him as Oversword Amir.

• Oversword Amir initially thought she was older than she was, because when he met her she was tall and lanky for her age, though some of that lankiness was from poor nutrition.

• She legally carries the last name Tuman, though she no longer uses it, as she doesn’t want his reputation to be sullied in connection to her.

• Her mother worshipped Selûne. Oversword Amir worships Lathander.

• She has briefly been to both Everlund and Sundabar while working as a guard for an importing merchant of exotic fruits

Moral Code/Ideals  
-Don’t break deals or promises.  
-Don’t steal from those who would miss it or don’t deserve to be stolen from.  
-The working class deserve more respect than any noble.  
-Try not to let down those that put their faith in you.  
-Do what must be done to complete any set goals.  
-Direct questions deserve direct answers.  
-Say what you mean.  
-The ends don’t always justify the means.  
-Unjust authority should not keep that authority  
-Following official laws is preferable.  
-Don’t become angry except in defense others.  
-Betrayal is amongst the worst of crimes.  
-Don’t let serious crimes go. If justice is to be had, it should be.  
-Those in positions of power who are moral should be supported.  
-Fleeing battle is only justifiable when it could save the lives of comrades.  
-No one should get preferential treatment before the law, and no one is above the law.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Letters that Nazha writes to Oversword Amir Tuman, but doesn't send.
> 
> I've been writing letters in character to keep track of how Nazha if feeling and what she is thinking throughout the campaign. These are usually written after long rests or periods of traveling, so updates will be sporadic.

Oversword Amir Tuman,

I know it has been a while since I have written you, but I am doing well. How have you been getting along? I heard that you may finally be promoted to Battlemaster, despite all the trouble I caused for you within the ranks. Should I start addressing you as Battlemaster Amir now?

I have recently joined a small company of adventurers, a somewhat rag-tag bunch, who seem quite capable. We have been traveling to the town of Quaervarr, in the Silver Marches, and are nearly there, following some vague story of a ghost. Though there are some members I get along with better than others, they seem to all hold themselves to a high moral standard. In particular, there is a young half-Elf girl who I feel has much potential. She is a druid and, from what I have seen, her dedication to what is natural and right is admirable.

There is also an Elven man who I soon discovered to be of some nobility or wealth, I am not entirely certain. He seems to have fashioned himself to be a paladin but has yet to display any holy powers. He can have a bit of a forceful personality and does not seem to be very forthright, making secrets of things that need not be. I will admit I may have antagonized him some, but only because he acts so temperamental. We were guests in his home in Silverymoon for one night and when I inquired about his mother, as we had yet to see or hear of her, he rudely stated that it was not any of my business. If he had simply said he did not wish to speak of it I would have let it lie, but he did not. And so, when at dinner that night with his father, I inquired about his wife. I got my answer and while I can now see why he would not have wanted to discuss it, how was I to differentiate it from any other time he casually denied to answer a harmless question, when everyone else seems to be so forthcoming with things as simple as their age but him?

I digress… <strike>I miss you</strike> I wish you well in your new position, though I know you will exceed in it and soon become as well respected as you already were. May the Morninglord shine upon you.

Sincerely always,

Nazha


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Letters that Nazha writes to Oversword Amir Tuman, but doesn't send.
> 
> I've been writing letters in character to keep track of how Nazha if feeling and what she is thinking throughout the campaign. These are usually written after long rests or periods of traveling, so updates will be sporadic.

Oversword Amir Tuman,

I feel that I have learned even more about my new companions. Especially when we found some sort of magical pool in the accursed ruins we discovered in Methegrist. It showed their most shameful experience from their past, and the rest of us were able to see what it showed them, as well. Though it seemed to grant some semblance of peace to those who looked into it, I couldn’t bring myself to relive it. We also encountered an imp who seemed to have intimate knowledge about some of our party members…

I find myself disliking the Elven paladin I mentioned more and more. He presents himself as some arbiter of good, but will readily abandon innocent civilians to their fates without a second thought. He acts as if he knows better and has the authority to make decisions for the rest of us. Furthermore, he kept using his divine sense, but supposedly all he could detect was my fiendish blood. As if it wasn’t apparent enough. Am I really so fiendish? I know you would say that we can all choose to be someone new every day, that change is achievable, but it seems no matter how hard I try I can never overcome my fiendish constitution.

I must tell you that we may have unintentionally unleashed a horrible darkness upon the world. We think it comes from the Underdark, with its seeming connection to Lolth, the Spider Queen, but it is rapidly spreading. As I write, we are marching to Winter Edge from Quaervarr with their troops. They are being besieged by orcs, likely also in connection to whatever is brewing in the Underdark. I am beginning to realize that no matter where I go war will somehow find me and entangle all who I may care for. I can only hope that it does not spread so far as Cormyr, you have enough trouble having to deal with the mess on the Dragon Coast.

Never-the-less, I wish you a fair Morning and bid you to _stay alert_.

Sincerely always,

Nazha


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Letters that Nazha writes to Oversword Amir Tuman, but doesn't send.
> 
> I've been writing letters in character to keep track of how Nazha if feeling and what she is thinking throughout the campaign. These are usually written after long rests or periods of traveling, so updates will be sporadic.

Oversword Amir Tuman,

After arriving in Winter Edge, we learned that the Orcs marching to attack the town had previously engaged in some sort of treaty with them, that they were now breaking. One of the townspeople was a half-Orc man, whose mother was once part of this tribe, Broken Arrow, I think. He led us through the woods to Dark Arrow Keep so that we would parley with them, and though they injured him in the process, we were eventually escorted inside to speak with their king. This king of Many Arrows seemed to have a loose grip on his authority over his people when we spoke to him.

It was then that it was confirmed to us that the orcs were moving in concert with the Drow. Being used more like. While I, and many others, tried our best to use diplomacy to convince them that the Drow would merely dispose of them once they were no longer useful, there were many among the orc leaders who only saw what they may reap in the short-term as significant. The result of our peacekeeping efforts was an agreement with the king that if one of us, “our champion”, won in a fight to the death, they would agree to set aside the Drow and instead continue trade with the Human settlements nearby.

The Elven paladin, of course, was the first one to volunteer, ever eager to enter battle and risk the safety of everyone should he fail. Events soon became absolutely chaotic, so I will do my best to abbreviate what occurred for you. To greatly simplify things, our “champion” was useless, mostly fleeing from his opponent, which was a one-eyed drake. In the chaos, two other members of our party were thrown into the ring and were joined by two more orcs. The one to end it all, at the last moment, was one of our clerics. She told me afterward that she is inexperienced in fighting, but she performed admirably. It was declared that we had won the match, and that we had there hospitality as the measures of our agreement were discussed.

After we were escorted to our chambers, we were approached by a female orc. She conveyed to us that she was a servant to the king and that, as I had gathered, did not have absolute control over the many tribes under his rule. She told us that there were those among them that intended to kill us, no matter our victory. She advised us to escape and we determined this would be the best course of action, outnumbered as we were. We were able to make it out without too much trouble and set out to Mithral Hall, on her recommendation, to inform them of the spreading of orcs, the darkness, and interference of the drow. As I write to you now, we are making this journey.

I have realized that I hardly mentioned the others in our party. Now that we are traveling again for an extended time, I feel I can write some of what I know of them all. I am currently in the company of the half-Elf druid and Elven paladin that I mentioned previously. I am eager to speak more with our young druid, as she has confided in me that she was raised by a Tiefling woman. You know that the only Tiefling beside myself I have ever encountered was my late mother, and so I cannot help myself but to be curious of this woman and if my new friend knows any more about what it is to be a Tiefling, than I.

There are two clerics in our group, a Firbolg who has extensive knowledge of all kinds of burial rights and seems to be a rather agreeable fellow. And the other who I _suspect_ is also another elf, as she is covered from head-to-toe at all times. She has some connection to the Drow, though what ever, it is clear that she holds no love for them and is otherwise quite pleasant. The responsibility of playing the peacekeeper role within our group often falls to her.

Next, there is our wizard. Though utterly Human, I find him utterly _delightful_. Inquisitive, optimistic, clever, and generous. He sees the world with clear eyes and an open mind, which I admire. He can be I bit naïve at times, but he has thus far always been well intentioned.

There is the Dwarven ranger, who acts with a level head, even when faced with orcs, who she has openly admitted to despising. Also, there is the Dragonborn barbarian who is the ‘act first, think never’, sort. We have another paladin, a human, who, while seemingly calm and relaxed at all times, seems to have a raging river under still waters. Luckily, we have disposed of the bomb he always carried with him and seemed ready to use at any moment.

Lastly, we also have two sorcerers, one a Halfling and one a Human with draconic features, each of them full of surprises, though I have yet been able to speak with them enough to know much more about them.

There have been others who have come and gone, and I expect there will be more, but those I have detailed are so far the most long-standing and with us as I write this letter. What is next to come, I have no way of knowing. Even still I will pray to the Morninglord just for you, that you may be in good health and continue to prosper.

Sincerely always,

Nazha


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Letters that Nazha writes to Oversword Amir Tuman, but doesn't send.
> 
> I've been writing letters in character to keep track of how Nazha if feeling and what she is thinking throughout the campaign. These are usually written after long rests or periods of traveling, so updates will be sporadic.

Oversword Amir Tuman,

During our camping, one night, I heard a child’s scream while on watch. I woke the rest of the party and rushed to discover a heavily injured wolf and signs of a struggle, including blood. With the help of our druid, we were able to communicate with this wolf and we learned that his companion, a young boy, had been taken by some bad men. We were able to follow the trail to a fortress in the woods, based on our location, I now know it to have been Claw Hollow. After a few false starts and some creative thinking, we were able to create a distraction, find our way in, and rescue the boy, who we learned was a halfling, and reunite him with his wolf companion. Just as we were leaving a man appeared from the ground and, already with tensions high, I instinctively shot an arrow at him. Somehow, he was able to redirect this arrow and it hit our druid, who was near him, instead. By this point our distraction had run out and the rest of the camp barraged the party with poisoned arrows, half of the party being knocked out by the poison. Somehow through all this I remained unharmed, but it soon became apparent that our only option was to surrender, let them restrain us, and bring us inside, if only for the moment.

We were left manacled in a lightly guarded room, divested of our weapons and armor of course. Our druid was deeply distressed that they had confiscated her locket, which has some sort of magic attached to it, but also provides some connection or clue to her birth parents. We all discussed many of the questions that had building up since our folly in those ruins. We discussed a hidden or lost library, surrounded by ivy, that holds lost knowledge and information on our druid’s parentage. I am personally curious if we might find some clues on how to exorcise this darkness that has covered the sky here It was also confirmed that our halfling sorcerer is in fact afraid of anything fiendish, including Tieflings, myself included.

Left in this room, with but one guard stationed at the doorway, we were all able to rest and regain our strength for our escape. I was able to break from my chains and soon realized that, though you had me educated in all types of weapon use, I am not as proficient with daggers as one would hope, and I doubt I will ever be very successful if I were to pursue becoming an assassin.

I was able to destroy enough of my company’s chains that we were all able to break loose and begin looking for a way out. We came to a room with a throne made of stone, which we discovered was covering a wealth of coin and magical items, which we later identified. As we were preparing to follow the next hallway to hopefully get away, the room was suddenly filled with a giant fireball, heavily injuring all of us. Once again, half of our party was knocked unconscious. luckily our those of us capable of healing were able to revive them quickly. As the fireball’s flames diminished, we saw the same man who had redirected my arrow, and who at this point I had assumed was the leader of this camp. A short battle ensued, and we discovered that he was immune to all attacks but magical. But when the young boy we had come to rescue unexpectedly shot him with a silvered arrow, I remembered that we had heard tales of werewolves in Claw Hollow, and that this man must be one. I also began to suspect that this boy may have been looking for them and may have even intentionally _let_ himself be captured.

In the end, we were able to dispatch this werewolf spellcaster and take him with us, for impending interrogation, as we escaped the fortress into the woods. I am writing you now, as we rest and prepare to put even more distance between us and the Hollow. The first thing on our agenda will be to question our prisoner and also this boy.

Until then, I pray for your continued wellbeing and a new Dawn.

Sincerely always,

Nazha


	6. New Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So a lot has happened since I wrote a letter, but Nazha has become more and more uncomfortable with how her life is going and her feelings that she doesn't know why she is doing anything.

Oversword Amir Tuman,

I miss you so much. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I know I probably shouldn’t come back, that I’m no supposed to, but I can never feel at home no matter where I go. So much has been happening and I feel that I have no control over the path that I take. I don’t know that I’m needed here. No. I know that I’m not.

Maybe I’ll return to the Tuman home in Eveningstar. I know that my presence would be noted immediately in Marsember… I miss the days before any of this happened. Remember when you first brought me to your home, back when I was Vice, and I couldn’t trust you an inch? Oh, I was so young, but I already knew that there were those is this world that couldn’t be trusted… But I was wrong about you. I could trust you. I still trust you. I was so angry when I first left, but I realized a long time ago that you did what you had to, to protect me. Then, I felt so ashamed that I had been angry that I couldn’t bear to sully your name, your legacy, with my association.

I just want to go back to the days when you would oversee my lessons and correct my form with the glaive. Though I always preferred the sword, you insisted I learn to use every tool at my disposal. You tried to give me everything but is seems that I’m not destined for it.

I thought I knew what my life was for and look how that turned out. Then I thought I could find a new purpose on my own. That it would just fall into my lap… How foolish I am. Now I’m hoping that if I return home to Cormyr, despite the danger it could present to me, that I will be able to start over? But what else am I supposed to do? I need your help. I need a new Dawn.

Sincerely always,

Nazha Tuman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In our last session, we left of with being in the Feywild and Nazha making death saves and in danger of drowning either way. I've had no failures and only need one more success, but I've been thinking about it and have decided that even if she lives through this (which I hope she does), her time with the group has come to an end. She has come to care for some of the members, but she also feels like she doesn't really know what her purpose is or why she's even in the Silver Marches. She needs to go her own way and figure some things out.  
So this is her last letter. I am creating a new character for the campaign, but she won't be writing letters.


End file.
